The Salvation of the Lake
by xForeversEndx
Summary: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are leaving Hagrid's one night, only to discover one Draco Malfoy sitting by the lake. Hurtful words are spoken, characters broken, and Harry has a heart to heart with our suicidal Slytherin Prince. Slash, but not graphic.


It was a late, autumn night on the grounds of Hogwarts. Harry James Potter was leaving Hagrid's hut along with Ron and Hermione, not unlike any other night. Only this time, however, they'd forgotten the invisibility cloak were in plain view to anyone who might be wondering around in the night time air. Such a person happened to be sitting beneath a tree along the edge of the lake, his knees to his chest, staring. He didn't seem to notice the three.

Draco Malfoy looked very upset.

Ron was the first to notice the blonde's presence. He sneered as they approached their fellow sixth year student .

"What are _you _doing here Malfoy? Don't we see enough of your face during the day?" The boy looked up, and Harry felt a sense of unease. The life seemed to have drained from his enemy's eyes.

"I have every right to be out here as you do, Weasel." He said softly. His voice lacked any of its normal conviction, and Hermione noticed this as well. Her eyes narrowed in thought as her boyfriend continued as though he hadn't heard Malfoy speak.

"I mean, it's bad enough that we even have to deal with you." Hermione jumped in, sensing distress from the boy on the grass.

"Ron, stop." He ignored this as well, remaining blissfully unaware of the emotional state of one Draco Malfoy. Ron never was the brightest when it came to feelings.

"If you could do us any one favour, you'd just do yourself off and save the rest of us the trouble." This, finally, elicited a response from the dragon, though not the one that Ron had been expecting. Malfoy showed none of his usual malice, but looked up at the redheaded teenager silently as tears began to fill his eyes.

Even Ron Weasley could not ignore this. Seeming at last to catch on to Malfoy's state of being, he backed off, sighing.

"Whatever, Malfoy. Come on." He motioned to the other two. Only Hermione, however, moved to follow. The ebony haired boy stayed firmly in his position.

"You two go on." He spoke softly, passing a gentle glance at the teary eyed Slytherin, who was not quite crying. The other two offer him a curious look, and as Ron opened his mouth to speak, Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Okay, Harry." She answered quietly. "See you in the common room." The two turned and left as the blonde wiped at his eyes and returned to staring at the lake, ignoring Harry's presence. He appeared to be waiting for something. Perhaps, he was waiting for the other to leave. Harry observed him for a few moments, assessing the grey eyed boy's reaction to Ron's suicide statement, and came to a conclusion that he could not ignore.

"Shit, Malfoy." He stated softly. "You're not..." Despite how vague his statement was, the other seemed to understand. He sighed, reserved, and brought up his hand, unfolding it, to show Harry something in his grasp.

A small, sharp razorblade sat, menacingly in his palm.

"Draco," Harry said carefully, determining that this would be a good time to address the boy by his first name, "he didn't mean that."

"Yes he did." Draco's tone was monotonous. "And he won't have to worry. That's exactly what I was out here to do." Harry frowned at the lack of emotion in the boy's words. His suspicions had been correct. Draco glanced at the bespectacled teenager and spoke again, just as monotonously, after a moment of silence. "How did you know?" The dark haired boy offered a sad smile.

"Your expression. I know that look, Draco. Especially after he said that." When the other responded, there was a little more conviction in his voice. He spoke in a sneer that retained a ghost of what the old Malfoy used to be.

"So now what Potter? Here to laugh? Tell me to do it? That I should die?" His voice broke on the last word, the malice disappearing in the sentence and the Gryffindor watched as his grey eyes brimmed with tears yet again. He held his hand, palm up, toward Draco.

"Give that here Malfoy." This pulled some emotion from the boy, and he closed his fingers around the blade, looking frantically at his companion, tears finally beginning to spill down his ivory cheeks.

"No! What the bloody hell do you care anyway? I need this. I'm not letting you ruin this for me. Go away!" Harry sighed and looked at the suicidal Slytherin with a patient expression.

"If you think that I'm just going to walk away and let you kill yourself, you must have truly gone insane. Hand me the blade, Draco." Draco just shook his head.

"No." He sniffed, wiping at his cheeks. "I have no reason not to."

"Yes you do." Harry replied softly. "You're not alone anymore." Draco choked pitifully on a soft sob, causing him to blush in embarrassment.

"Then leave." He demanded quietly.

"I know how you feel, Draco." Harry said quietly, moving closer to the crying boy. An expression of worry and nervousness crossed Malfoy's features, making Harry wonder if there was something he's missing.

"You do?" Harry Potter could not for the life of him understand why Draco appeared frightened by his statement.

"Yes." The Gryffindor said simply, though now feeling slightly unsure of himself. Maybe the two thought they were talking of different things? "Like the world is falling around you." He said quietly. "Like your friends aren't really your friends. That your parents don't love you. You feel like it would be easier to die than go on living alone. You've been hiding. You don't want to hide anymore do you Draco?"

The blonde stared at the brunette for a few silent moments before breaking into desperate, uncontrollable sobs. Seeking some sort of comfort, he reached out to Harry, who, slightly uncomfortably, pulled the distraught teenager into his arms.

"You don't have to hide." He told him quietly. "There's always another option, and this isn't it." The Chosen One allowed the Prince of Slytherin to cry into his shoulder, something the latter had desperately needed for a very long time.

After a long while, Draco pulled away, crying still softly. Slowly, he reached out and opened his palm, offering up the silver rectangle that was originally meant to end his life. Harry stared into the boy's eyes as he took the blade, and he saw something huge. Something he'd missed before.

Harry Potter understood why Draco was afraid, when he said he knew how he feels.

Harry Potter smiled, and placed a gentle kiss on the lips of one Draco Malfoy. And while Draco Lucius Malfoy was lost in the kiss he'd only ever dreamed of, the razorblade was tossed with malice by a strong, Quidditch playing arm. The silver hit the lake, sinking

Deeper

Deeper

Deeper

Into the water that swallowed it whole, into deep, black depths.

Where it will never hurt him again.

**Just a little fic I decided to write one day. I know this has been done before, but I wanted my go at it. It's short, yes, shorter than the chapters in Lines of Misery, but oh well. PLEASE REVIEW, its most of my reason for writing. Expect another little oneshot soon, I've been getting ideas like mad, even if not all of them are very original.**

**Lovingly,**

**xForeversEndx**


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